Trump Says Talks Are Underway as Khamenei Warns a U.S. Attack Would Trigger Regional War

Overview

• Trump told reporters he set a deadline for Tehran and later said on Fox News that Iran is talking to Washington, while declining to reveal any military plans.
• U.S. forces have massed in the Gulf with the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships, and CENTCOM cautioned the Revolutionary Guard as it conducts a two‑day live‑fire drill in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi stated Iran is ready to resume negotiations on the nuclear program under equal terms but will not discuss missiles or defensive capabilities.
• Senior security official Ali Larijani said frameworks for negotiations are advancing, as President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed Iran does not seek war and Army chief Amir Hatami declared forces on maximum alert.
• Khamenei’s warning followed Europe’s move to list the IRGC as a terrorist group, to which Iran’s parliament branded EU armies terrorist, while protest death tolls remain disputed and one detainee, Erfan Soltani, was released on bail.